A sportsbook is a company or entity that accepts bets. It can be legal or illegal. DraftKings is a licensed 🎅 sportsbook, while Bovada is an offshore sportsbook that's been operating without a license in the U.S. for years. Players who 🎅 live in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Nevada will not be able to register and play on the 🎅 site. Most sportsbooks accept wagers on most major sporting events, especially college and professional events. Some online bookmakers expand the 🎅 kinds of bets they offer to other, non-sporting events, like the results of political elections and/or the Oscars.

In common usage, 🎅 a sportsbook typically refers to a company that takes sports bets. A sportsbook is technically the same thing as a 🎅 bookmaker or bookie, but these terms usually apply to individuals (or small groups of people) who take bets. People will 🎅 sometimes also refer to the place where bets are made as a sportsbook, which can be a building or even 🎅 a website.

For many years, the only fully legal sportsbooks in the United States were in Nevada, although they also operated 🎅 in limited form in Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. But a 2024 Supreme Court decision changed that. Now, 30 states have 🎅 legalized sportsbooks, and some allow these to be accessed online.

Key Takeaways A sportsbook is a company or individual who accepts 🎅 bets from individual sports bettors.

Sportsbooks generally accept bets on either side of a sporting event. They can do this because 🎅 of the difference between what you wager and what you win.